Video shows staff ignored patient later found dead

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I find the story below to be very scary. I used to work for a hospital and thought some of the things I saw were pretty bad... Video shows staff ignored patient later found dead BY JOHN MARZULLI and JONATHAN LEMIRE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 12:33 AM Video showing workers at a Brooklyn psychiatric center walking past a mental patient who lies dying or dead on the floor has been turned over to the feds as part of their investigation into the notorious ward, according to sources close to the probe. The stunning video, which was handed over to Justice Department lawyers, will be part of their ongoing inquiry into allegations of mistreatment and abuse of patients in King's County Hospital mental ward, known as the G Building. The patient, who was brought to the Psychiatric Emergency Department in the mental ward early Thursday, was given a mild tranquilizer after she arrived, a source said. She soon fell out of the chair onto the floor, and the video shows several hospital workers ignoring her as they pass through the room, according to sources who have seen the tape. The 49-year-old woman was unresponsive when help finally came, more than an hour later. It is hospital policy to check on new patients at least every 30 minutes, according to a hospital source. Autopsy results for the woman, whose identity has not been determined, were pending late Saturday. Three staff members were fired as part of the Health and Hospitals Corp.'s internal probe: the ward's director of security, the director of psychiatry and the physician on duty, according to a HHC spokesman. Spokeswoman Ana Marengo said, "We have been cooperating with [The U.S. attorney's office was] and will continue to do so." Federal investigators last month began looking into whether the civil rights of institutionalized patients were violated due to mistreatment or neglect by staff, and by the use of excessive force by hospital security guards. The probe was sparked by a suit filed last year which graphically described the squalid conditions in the G Building. "The abject indifference shown by KCH Center staff is appalling and unfortunately confirms the culture of neglect and abhorrent treatment," said Dennis Feld, a lawyer with the state's Mental Hygiene Legal Service, which brought the suit. Relatives of patients being treated at the G Building were horrified by news of the death. "I'm going to be watching out now, and I'm going to ask my family members to do the same," said Barbara Mason of Brooklyn. "Some workers here just don't care about people." jlemire@nydailynews.com